Santa Monica College (SMC) student and tennis player Nicole West just finished her regular season undefeated as the top player in the Western State Conference (WSC) as a singles and doubles player.

Santa Monica College Corsairs women's tennis player Nicole West, during her singles match against Anna Kynclova, of the Los Angeles Mission College Eagles. West won the match 6-3, 6-3. The Corsairs won the box score 6-3. Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at Ocean View Park, Santa Monica, Calif. (Nicholas McCall | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) student and Women's tennis player Nicole West just finished her undefeated regular season. She went undefeated in all of her singles and doubles matches, making her the top player in the Western State Conference (WSC) of the California Community College Athletic Association. On Tuesday, March 22, she defeated Anna Kynclova of Los Angeles Mission College (LAMC) in her last game of the season (6-3, 6-3) to secure her spot for the Western State Conference tournament.

Players have to go through at least quarterfinals to get access to the next tournament towards the State Championships. First, they play at the Conference level, then Regionals, and finally at the State.

Freshmen women's tennis player Kai Nikchevich also finished undefeated in all of her singles matches this season, making her the second ranked player in the WSC. Both West and Nikchevich went 11-0 in their respective singles matches.

Nikchevich and West share an amazing season not just with their individual success but also as a doubles team, as they went 11-0, earning them the top rank in the WSC. They both have a shot to win this year's Western State Championships tournament individually as singles and as a team.

“I didn’t meet Kai until our first match this year…we’ve never even practiced together, just played.” said West.

West’s coming to the sport is thanks to her grandfather from Russia who used to play over there. He encouraged Nicole to the sport since the young age of five. His imprint is with her.

West has a job as a tennis coach and assistant coach during the week for players of different ages.

“You cannot put the work you need to put in if you don’t like what you are doing...keep the love for the game." said West. Those are her words of advice to her players.

She is still undecided on her major, although she’s taken most of economic and business classes on the school program so far. “I chose SMC because has a good tennis program and also the transfer rate.” said West.

“I actually have never taken a class on campus.” said West. She is a full-time student that has never stepped foot on campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing a shift towards remote learning.

“This is first time playing on the tournament…and I am very excited representing SMC”, West said.

The Western State Championships tournament began on of Friday, April 1. Over the weekend, West advanced to the singles Conference Final and will face Kynclova of LAMC yet again for the WSC singles championship on Friday, April 8 at 11 a.m. at Ventura College. West and Nikchevich also won their doubles quarterfinals match have a chance to advance to the Western State Championship Finals. They have a doubles semifinals match scheduled at 1 p.m. that same day.

“There is a lot of pressure because of my seating (position) on the tournament”. said West. She prepares for her games by sleeping early the night before and starting the day with a big, healthy breakfast.

After graduating from SMC, West is strongly aiming for a school with a Division I tennis program. She mentioned that UCLA is in her heart, but she believes it is also an academically challenging and difficult school to be accepted to.

West hopes her momentum, and these championships could tip the balance towards her higher education dreams.

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